The word galvanize is derived from a person’s name: Luigi Galvani, a physician and physicist of Bologna. It’s an example of an eponym (a word that derives from the name of a person).

Galvani observed that the legs of a frog would twitch when brought into contact with certain metals. The twitching was the result of a kind of animal electricity—hence galvanize, “to stimulate into sudden action”.

Other eponyms include:

cardigan from James Thomas Brudenell, seventh Earl of Cardigan (1797-1868);